An Afternoon with Mr Palmer

Recently I've spent some time with Dick Palmer; the main contact for the Broughton Community Apple Press. I interviewed him for the short film I'm currently working on which will be shown in the lobby of the Victory Hall throughout the festival.

Taking to Dick, I hadn't quite realised the network of people in the area and around the country who are involved in sustaining our orchards and native fruit trees. There seems to be a real interest in this which is linked to a number of current social issues; sustaining local heritage, the growing interest in where our food comes from and the idea of 'growing your own'.

Dick showed me around his orchard at the bottom of Foxfield road. He has lots of young trees in his wonderful garden which stretches down the old railway track. Each tree has a metal tag with the variety engraved into it:

I made a mistake of asking 'when you you pick the apples?' to which Dick answered 'oh no, you don't pick apples you shake 'em off'. However if an apple is being a bit stubborn you can give it a helping hand with the special stick Dick made and with a jab and twist the apples come away easily.

I haven't seen the press yet as it's all tucked away until the end on the month when the apples will be ready. However Dick did show me the newest piece of kit that can be hired out with the press. These orchard ladders are a thing of beauty - looking a little like a modern bridge and so light you can carry them with one hand, the design of them is just perfect for 'shaking the apples'

So my next meeting with Dick is next week when we'll hopefully be harvesting and getting ready to press. It's a real delight to talk to someone who knows so much about an ancient process, and thanks to these organisations many more people are finding out about British orchards.